Effects of early life adversity on immune function and cognitive performance: results from the ALSPAC cohort

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology - Early life adversity (ELA) is a significant risk factor for mental health disorders. One hypothesised mechanism by which this occurs is via an...     

Knowledge on,and attitude toward,HIV/AIDS among staff of an international organization in Bangladesh

Two hundred and ninety-three randomly-selected members of the staff of ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research were surveyed anonymously in June 1998, using a pre-tested and self-administered questionnaire, to assess their knowledge on, and attitude toward, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). All except 4 (1.4%) heard of AIDS. Main sources of information were radio and television (93%), newspapers and magazines (84.8%), posters and leaflets (70.2%), and friends (59.2%). About 94% of the respondents believed that HIV might spread in Bangladesh. Only 61.6% knew about the causative agent for AIDS. More than 96% had knowledge that HIV could be detected through blood test. The respondents were aware that unprotected sexual intercourse (92%), transfusion of blood and blood components (93.8%), sharing unsterile needles for injections (94.1%), and delivery of babies by infected mothers (82.7%) could transmit HIV. Similarly, the respondents had the knowledge that HIV infection could be prevented by using condom during sexual intercourse (85.5%), having sex only with an HIV-negative faithful partner (87.2%), avoiding transfusion of blood not screened for HIV (88.9%), and taking injections with sterile needles (86.5%). However, only 33.0% had the knowledge that HIV-infected persons can look healthy, and 56.4% were unaware of transmission through breastmilk. Most members of the staff, particularly at lower level, had misconceptions about transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS. More than 40% of the respondents had the attitude that HIV-infected persons should not be allowed to work, while another 10% did not have any idea about it. The findings of the study suggest that the members of the Centre's staff have a satisfactory level of essential knowledge on HIV/AIDS, although half of them have poor attitudes toward persons with HIV/AIDS. Therefore, preventive strategy for the staff should be directed toward behaviour change communication.     

Different blood acetaldehyde concentration following ethanol administration in a newly developed high alcohol preference and low alcohol preference rat model system

A significant difference in blood-acetaldehyde concentration was observed between high alcohol-preference (HAP) rats and low alcohol-preference (LAP) rats, newly developed different alcohol preference lines. This difference of acetaldehyde accumulation may be due to cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH1) polymorphism, which has been reported previously. As the doses of ethanol we employed are higher than that of voluntary drinking, there may be little direct relationship between acetaldehyde accumulation and alcohol preference. We suggest therefore that the ALDH1 polymorphism is associated with alcohol preference in HAP/LAP lines through some other unidentified mechanism.     

Gender-specific protective effect of hemoglobin on arsenic-induced skin lesions.

Chronic arsenic poisoning remains a public health crisis in Bangladesh. As arsenic has been shown to bind to human hemoglobin (Hb), hematologic mechanisms may play a role in the pathway through which arsenic exerts its toxicity. Two separate studies, a case-control and a cohort, were conducted to investigate the role of Hb in the development of arsenic-induced skin lesions. In the first, conditional logistic regression was used to investigate the effect of Hb on skin lesions among 900 case-control pairs from Pabna, Bangladesh, in which individuals were matched on gender, age, and location. In the second, mixed linear regression models were used to examine the association between toenail arsenic, urinary arsenic, and Hb within a cohort of 184 individuals from 50 families in the same region who did not have arsenic-induced skin lesions. Hb was significantly associated with skin lesions but this association was gender specific. In males, a 40% reduction in the odds of skin lesions occurred for every 1 g/dL increase in Hb (odds ratio, 0.60; 95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.73). No effect was observed for females (odds ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.92-1.46). In the cohort of 184 individuals, no associations between toenail arsenic or urinary arsenic species and Hb levels were observed. Low Hb levels may exacerbate the detrimental health effects of chronic arsenic poisoning. Whereas providing clean water remains the optimal solution to Bangladesh's problem of arsenic poisoning, improving nutrition and reducing iron-deficiency anemia may ameliorate negative health effects, such as skin lesions in individuals who have been exposed.     

The question of C- vs. O-silylation of ketenes: electrophilic triethylsilylation of diphenylketene

Electrophilic triethylsilylation of diphenylketene leads to exclusive C-silylation giving the diphenyl(triethylsilyl)acetyl cation in the solution phase even though density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G* level indicate that the O-silylation of diphenylketene is preferred over C-silylation by 5.4 kcal/mol in the gas phase. On the other hand, in the case of the parent ketene, similar density functional theory calculations show that C-silylation is preferred over O-silylation by 8.2 kcal/mol.     

Antimony: an unlikely confounder in the relationship between well water arsenic and health outcomes in Bangladesh

Recent in vitro studies have suggested a potential role for antimony as a confounder in human health studies related to arsenic in drinking water. We measured tube-well water concentrations of antimony and arsenic in the Pabna region of Bangladesh, where arsenic concentrations are known to be elevated and the concentrations of antimony have not yet been thoroughly documented. Two hundred forty-five tube-well water samples were collected from various regions in Pabna, Bangladesh, as part of an ongoing case-control study. Water samples were analyzed for arsenic and antimony concentrations by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency method 200.8. The arsenic concentrations in the tube-well water samples ranged from < 1 microg/L to 747 microg/L. All 245 water samples had antimony concentrations < 1 microg/L. Based on consideration of the concentrations used the in vitro studies compared with field-observed concentrations, our results do not support the hypothesis that antimony would be a significant confounder in observed relationships between arsenic exposure through drinking water and potential health outcomes in Pabna, Bangladesh.     

Presentation and endoscopic management of biliary ascariasis

Ascaris lumbricoides is a common parasite and the most serious and dramatic presentation is hepatobiliary and pancreatic ascariasis (HPA). Therefore, this study was planned prospectively to elucidate the clinical presentation of HPA and evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic intervention. In this study we documented 77 consecutive patients with HPA from January 2000 to November 2005. All the patients had endoscopically proven HPA. A total of 77 patients were included in the study. The age ranged from 6 to 80 years, with the third decade most commonly (28.6%) affected. Females were 6 times more likely to be affected than males. The commonest presentation was biliary colic (97.4%); other presentations were acute cholangitis (15.6%), obstructive jaundice (9.1%), acute pancreatitis (6.5%), choledocholithiasis (6.5%), acute cholecystitis (6.5%) and liver abscess (2.6%). In this report 51 (66.2%) had living, 10 (13%) had dead and 16 (20.8%) had both living and dead worms. Choledocholithiasis was associated only with dead worms. From one to 23 worms were found in the biliary tree. In 94.8% of cases we had to remove the worm by wide papillotomy followed by basket extraction. We did not experience any major complications during or following the procedures. Three patients had recurrent HPA during the course of follow-up (1 to 12 months). The majority of patients with HPA presented with biliary colic. This should be kept in mind in the management of an acute abdomen, especially in tropical countries. Endoscopic extraction is a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of HPA.     

Combining an mTOR antagonist and receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of prostate cancer

Inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is a potentially useful therapeutic strategy in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. However mTOR antagonists used as single agents are not likely to result in dramatic clinical responses, so that it is useful to identify prospective agents that might be useful in combination. We treated CWR22Rv1 and LNCaP prostate cancer cells with an mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, alone, or in combination with either of two receptor protein kinase (RTK) inhibitors. We assessed the effects of these treatments on cell survival and activation of down-stream mTOR target proteins. Treatment with either PD16839, an EGFr antagonist, or imatinib mesylate (Gleevec), a PDGFr, c-kit and bcr/abl antagonist, enhanced the anti-proliferative effects of rapamycin. We therefore assessed the effects of treatment with the RTK antagonist alone and in combination with rapamycin on mTOR targeted proteins. RTK antagonists alone had no effect or paradoxically increased phosphorylation of the mTOR targeted proteins, p70 S6 kinase and ribosomal S6. In contrast, when these cells were treated with either RTK antagonist in the presence of rapamycin, there was a dramatic decrease in phosphorylation of these two mTOR-targeted proteins. These effects were not mediated through phospho-AKT. Since two separate RTK antagonists had additive antiproliferative effects in combination with an mTOR antagonist and were associated with a dramatic decrease in mTOR targeted proteins in cells with or without PTEN expression, the strategy deserves further evaluation for the treatment of prostate cancer.